My story
Rachel Yaapoka Grushie
AccraGhana
About me
I’m a 29 year old deaf lady born at Ashiaman – Tema in the greater Accra region of Ghana but resident in Shukura, a suburb of Accra. I enjoy reading, songs, athletics, volleyball and giving encouragement to fellow deaf people in more positive ways.
My Story
My father was a farmer and security man in a company but retired as a security man in 1986 to join my mother and my other kid brothers and sisters in the village to continue his farming activities leaving me in the care of my elder brother in the capital city Accra. Back in the village my father used to farm to feed his family but he died in 1997 while I was a student and needed him most. In fact it was such a big blow to my family because he was the sole breadwinner in the entire family. He paid the school fees of my kid brothers and sisters in the village and sent us some money and food items every month. My mother than took it upon herself to embark on a petty trading in the village to continue from where my father left. In fact she was such a caring mother that any person can think of and she do not feel ashamed of having me as a daughter as in many cases but rather very supportive and caring. My mother is always proud of me and that has kept me up to this time.
I became deaf at the age of three as a result of a disease called “Chickenpox”. Several attempts by my parents to cure this disease proved futile. I was enrolled at the state school of the deaf at the age of 10 in 1985. In 1996 I got admission into senior secondary school at chemu Secondary school and also attended a computer training school in 1999. After the program, I was appointed to work as a computer program and sign language teacher in a Secondary Technical School for the Deaf at Mampong-Akuapim in the eastern region of Ghana for two years. I quitted the job in the year of 2001 due to the fact that the authorities were doing very little to ensure a regular payment of salary. A representative of VSO ordered my headmaster of my school to see the payment of my salary by the government but proved futile.
I got another job at a popular restaurant by name Paloma Restaurant as a data entry for some months. Having a dream of establishing a nursery school for the deaf kids, I left the job to establish a nursery school for the deaf kids. I did that through my own source and a lot of assistance from my husband and other individuals and organizations. I managed to lease a piece of land to put up a wooden structure. Today, I can boast of 20 pupils but not without any problems. Their parents due to their disabilities neglect most of these kids. I have extended request to some organizations for sponsorship but most of them see these kids as a burden, hence their inability to assist me.
I became deaf at the age of three as a result of a disease called “Chickenpox”. Several attempts by my parents to cure this disease proved futile. I was enrolled at the state school of the deaf at the age of 10 in 1985. In 1996 I got admission into senior secondary school at chemu Secondary school and also attended a computer training school in 1999. After the program, I was appointed to work as a computer program and sign language teacher in a Secondary Technical School for the Deaf at Mampong-Akuapim in the eastern region of Ghana for two years. I quitted the job in the year of 2001 due to the fact that the authorities were doing very little to ensure a regular payment of salary. A representative of VSO ordered my headmaster of my school to see the payment of my salary by the government but proved futile.
I got another job at a popular restaurant by name Paloma Restaurant as a data entry for some months. Having a dream of establishing a nursery school for the deaf kids, I left the job to establish a nursery school for the deaf kids. I did that through my own source and a lot of assistance from my husband and other individuals and organizations. I managed to lease a piece of land to put up a wooden structure. Today, I can boast of 20 pupils but not without any problems. Their parents due to their disabilities neglect most of these kids. I have extended request to some organizations for sponsorship but most of them see these kids as a burden, hence their inability to assist me.
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